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By David Plazas
Tennessee lawmakers have filed unconstitutional, divisive and misguided bills that would make the Holy Bible the official state book.
Both Tennessee and United States’ constitutions expressly respect the rights of individuals to worship freely, but also prohibit the state from favoring one religion over another.
This protects all of us, whether we choose to belong to a religious congregation or not.
We can live peacefully in society without religious tests and choose which religious institutions to attend and which scriptures to honor.
Making a religious text the state’s official tome isn’t like the innocuous act of choosing a state beverage (milk), fruit (tomato) or rock (limestone). This sends a message of exclusion and divisiveness in a state that is becoming more and more diverse.
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